Michael McCaul: Is Biden up to facing off with Putin?

Doped for decades, East German athletes are still searching for truth and justice. When the infamous Berlin Wall was breached 30 years ago, the darkest secrets of the East German police state were soon exposed. Among them was the systematic, coercive administration of performance-enhancing drugs to thousands of young athletes. It was meant to make them into world beaters, regardless of any damage to their health. Stephen Sackur talks to the former East German sprinter Ines Geipel about the abuse she and others were subjected to in what is now known as the East German doping scandal.(Photo: Former East German sprinter Ines Geipel)

3 Jul 201923min

Sarah Montague speaks to actor and activist Michael Sheen. Known around the world for his film, television and theatre work, Michael Sheen made his name for his uncanny ability to portray other people, such as Tony Blair, Brian Clough and David Frost. These roles catapulted him into a life far from his home in Port Talbot in South Wales. But it was acting that also brought him back there, where he is now immersed in tackling some of the problems that face a poor community: poverty, debt and homelessness. How does he straddle such contrasting worlds?(Photo: Michael Sheen attending the premiere of Good Omens at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London. Credit: PA MEDIA)

28 Jun 201922min

Brexit - not just an event, now a whole political movement. At the end of May, with its leader Nigel Farage at the helm, the Brexit Party swept the board in the European Parliament elections, demeaning the UK’s governing Conservative Party. Five years ago, the same triumph for Nigel Farage, albeit leading a party with a different name. Shaun Ley interviews Richard Tice, chairman of Mr Farage’s party and one of its MEPs. With many experts predicting a costly, bitter departure from the European Union, did the triumph of the Brexit Party bring the United Kingdom and its politics into discredit?Image: Richard Tice (Credit: Andy Rain/European Photopress Agency)

26 Jun 201923min

How dangerous is the superpower rivalry in technology and information? Currently there’s much focus on the tensions between the US and China over the Chinese tech giant Huawei. Soon 5G networks will be a critical part of our world in transportation, power supply, payment systems and so much more. Washington says the Chinese can’t be trusted because they may use their technology infrastructure for spying.  Beijing says this is nonsense. HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to the US top official on cyber information and security, Robert Strayer. He’s on a mission to dissuade Europeans from doing business with Huawei. But is Washington losing the cyberwar?Image: Robert Strayer (Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA)

24 Jun 201924min

How much responsibility should team Obama take for the course American politics has taken since they left centre-stage? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Valerie Jarrett, former advisor to President Obama. It is one of the great puzzles of American politics: how voters could make history by putting Barack Obama in the White House – twice – and then elect Donald Trump as his successor. Valerie Jarrett is a close friend and adviser to Barack and Michelle Obama from early days in Chicago, all the way through the White House years. How will historians view the Obama legacy?

19 Jun 201924min

Is Australia still a country wrestling with its identity? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Australian writer Thomas Keneally. He's the author of more than 30 novels including Schindler’s Ark, which won him the Booker Prize and was turned into an Oscar winning film. Much of his writing addresses the themes of culture and identity, and Australia’s modern and ancient heritage.

17 Jun 201923min

There is something special about the human heart. We live with, and by, its constant beat. We invest it with our deepest feelings. So naturally we reserve something like reverence for the surgeons who try to fix them when they are broken. Samer Nashef has chosen to write with honesty about the highs, lows and limitations of life and death surgery. He spoke to Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur at the Hay literary festival in Wales.

10 Jun 201923min

Political power inside the European Union is no longer going to be easily stitched up between the two big blocks of centre left and centre right. After last month’s European parliamentary election, Europe's Green party will wield significant influence in the next round of EU deal making. Hardtalk speaks to the Green candidate for Commission President, Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, and asks him how much the Greens are prepared to compromise.Image: Bas Eickhout (Credit: Marcel van Hoorn/European Photopress Agency)

7 Jun 201923min